Shoe stand



Jan. 23, 1934.

W. H. SMITH, SR

SHOE STAND Filed March 23, 1953 2 sheets-esheef 1 v i I I nvenlor William H. Smzlih, Sr.

Jan. 23, 1934. w. H. SMITH, SR 1,944,649

SHOE STAND Filed March 23, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 l6 l2 Invenfor William H./$mz %h, Sr.

gzwm flllorney Patented Jan. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1- Claim.

This invention relates to a new and improved support or holder for men's and women's shoes which may be conveniently referredto as a stand.

In reducing the invention to practice and perfecting the structural refinements thereof, I have developed What seems to be an innovation in that field of endeavor embodying stands used for store and window display purposes, but equally well adapted for home use in clothes closets and the like.

It is my primary aim to generally improve upon prior art devices with which I am familiar by providing a readily distinguishable well-balanced, simplified and economical structure which performs the requisite results and otherwise structurally distinguishes from analogous accesseries.

A further feature of the invention is predicated upon the adoption and use of an appropriate base and an associated perpendicular upright equipped with hingedly mounted foldable shelves constructed to function in the desired manner. Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is aside elevational view of a rack or stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of one of the pivoted stay or shelf-retention arms.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the shelf per se.

Figures 5 and 6 are sections taken on the plane of the lines 55 and 6-6 respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a detail section on the line 77 of Figure 4.

- Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference characters, it will be observed that the base comprises a pair of spaced parallel angle irons 8. Attached to and rising vertically from the base irons are uprights 9 also in the form of angle irons. v

The shelves of which there may be two or more are of identical construction, and a description of one will suffice for both. Each shelf is adapted to occupy an inclined position as shown in Figure 1 when in use, and a retracted or folded position to dispose it out-of-the-way when not in use.

As shown in Figure 4, the shelf comprises a substantially rectangular metallic plate 10, the outer or free end of which is bent down as indicated at 11 to serve primarily as an ornamenting and reinforcing lip. The longitudinal edge portions of the plate are bent down to form parallel side flanges 12 and these are apertured at their inner ends as indicated at 13 to ac- 00 commodate pivot pins 1% connecting the plates to the upright irons 9.

The inner end portion of the plate isoffset as indicated at 15 to simultaneously define a shoe heel reception pocket or recess and a shoulder (Ni forming web 16. In other words, this web functions as a shoulder allowing the heel of the shoe to be hung thereon as indicated in Figure '1 in dotted lines. Not only does this formation of the plate define the so-called heel suspension shoulder and recess, but it also decidedly reinforces the shelf as a unit, making it comparatively strong and yet inexpensive.

The numeral 17 designates one of a plurality of duplicate retention or stay arms for the shelves. 76 Each arm is of appropriate length and pivotally attached as at 18 to the adjacent side flange of the shelf, the free end portion of the arm being provided with a laterally directed outstanding wing-like abutment and stabilizing element 19 80 which co-acts with the upright irons 9 in the manner illustrated in Figure 5.

Thus, this arm 17 may be swung from the retracted concealed position in Figure 7 to the extended shelf supporting position shown in Figure 5.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the gist of the invention is predicated upon a simple wellbalanced inexpensive base made up of a pair of readily obtainable angle irons 8 and the upstanding upright forming irons 9. These irons 9 are attached to the irons 8 to provide the requisite balance of the complete structure to render it self-supporting.

The plate shelves 10 are pivotally mounted at 5' vertically spaced points between the upright irons 9 as shown in Figure 1, and so disposed with respect to each other as to allow both plates to fold down into nested relationship into the arms 7 9 for compactness and convenience of arrange- 0 ment to facilitate storage and carriage in a trunk or the like. These shelves serve to maintain the irons 9 in assembled relationship and all parts contribute to the ultimate expense of the structure as a whole.

The simple and economical construction of the shelves as illustrated in Figure 4 is emphasized, this being reinforced by the downturned or ourvate lip 11 at the free end and the offset end portion 15 at the inner end defining simulta- 1'10 neously a well or receptacle for the heel of the shoe as well as a suspension web or shoulder 16.

These features taken in conjunction with the wing-equipped stay arms 17 bear out the previous intimation that the device is characterized by structural distinctivenes in comparison to to prior art devices and is satisfactorily usable for the purposes intended. Needless to say, it serves well as a display rack for store or window use. It was primarily designed however as a convenient accessory for home use, the same being intended to be placed in a clothes closet to function as a rack for a plurality of shoes, permitting the shoes to be orderly arranged in a readily visible easily selected position. In this sense, it economizes in space and is readily adaptable for domestic or home use.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the illustrative drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding of the purpose, features and ad vantages, the explicit construction, and the invention as hereinafter claimed.

It is to beunderstood that minor changes in shape, size, relative proportions, and materials may be resorted to in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the inventions as now claimed.

I claim: V

A shoe stand comprising a base embodying a pair of spaced angle irons, an upright comprising a pair of duplicate opposed vertically arranged angle irons secured at their lower ends to the intermediate portions of the base irons and rising therefrom in spaced parallelism, upper and lower shoe supporting shelves disposed in vertical superposed relationship, the shelves being pivotally connected at their inner ends to the angle irons and being of a width less than the distance between the legs of the angles to which the shelves are pivoted so that the same may be folded into nested relation with respect to said vertically arranged angle irons, each shelf embodying a plate having its inner pivoted end portion offset downwardly to define a shoulder to accommodate the shoe heel, and stay arms pivotally connected to the shelves, each stay arm having its inner end removably engageable with one of the flanges of the vertical angle iron, the inner end portion of each arm being provided with an outstanding laterally directed wing-like stabilizing abutment.

WILLIAM H. SMITH, SR.

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